The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has approved new names for six features on Titan.

Arwen Colles for a 64-km-wide collis (small hills) located at -7.5°, 260°.The feature was named after the daughter of Elrond and Celebrían, a character from Middle-earth (in the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien).

Bilbo Colles for a 164-km-wide collis (small hills) located at -4.23°, 38.56°.The feature was named after the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, a character in the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Faramir Colles for a 82-km-wide collis (small hills) located at 4°, 153.8°.The feature was named after the younger brother of Boromir, a character in the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Handir Colles for a 100-km-wide collis (small hills) located at 10°, 356.68°.The feature was named after the Son of Haldir, a character in the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Nimloth Colles for a 90-km-wide collis (small hills) located at 11.86°, 151.3°.The feature was named after the second queen of Doriath, a character in the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Sotra Patera (Formerly Sotra Facula) for a 40-km-wide irregular crater located at -14.54°, 40°.The feature was named after a Norwegian island.

The international Cassini mission has spotted what appears to be a miniature extraterrestrial version of the Nile River: a river valley on Saturns moon Titan that stretches more than 400 km from its headwaters to a large sea. It is the first time images have revealed a river system this vast and in such high resolution anywhere beyond Earth. Read more

A new analysis of topographic and gravity data from Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons, indicates that Titan's icy outer crust is twice as thick as has generally been thought. Scientists have long suspected that a vast ocean of liquid water lies under the crust. The new study suggests that the internally generated heat that keeps that ocean from freezing solid depends far more on Titan's interactions with Saturn and its other moons than had been suspected.Read more

Data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft tie a shift in seasonal sunlight to a wholesale reversal, at unexpected altitudes, in the circulation of the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan. At the south pole, the data show definitive evidence for sinking air where it was upwelling earlier in the mission. So the key to circulation in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan turned out to be a certain slant of light. The paper was published today in the journal Nature.Read more

A literal shot in the dark by imaging cameras on NASA's Cassini spacecraft has yielded an image of a visible glow from Titan, emanating not just from the top of Titan's atmosphere, but also - surprisingly - from deep in the atmosphere through the moon's haze. A person in a balloon in Titan's haze layer wouldn't see the glow because it's too faint - something like a millionth of a watt. Scientists were able to detect it with Cassini because the spacecraft's cameras are able to take long-exposure images. Read more

Radar images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft reveal some new curiosities on the surface of Saturn's mysterious moon Titan, including a nearly circular feature that resembles a giant hot cross bun and shorelines of ancient seas. The results were presented today at the American Astronomical Society's Division of Planetary Sciences conference in Reno, Nev. Steam from baking often causes the top of bread to lift and crack. Scientists think some similar process involving heat may be at play on Titan.Read more

Findings suggest the surface of Saturn's largest moon may have undergone a recent transformation.

In 2004, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft - a probe that flies by Titan as it orbits Saturn - penetrated Titan's haze, providing scientists with their first detailed images of the surface. Radar images revealed an icy terrain carved out over millions of years by rivers of liquid methane, similar to how rivers of water have etched into Earth's rocky continents. While images of Titan have revealed its present landscape, very little is known about its geologic past. Now researchers at MIT and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville have analysed images of Titan's river networks and determined that in some regions, rivers have created surprisingly little erosion. The researchers say there are two possible explanations: either erosion on Titan is extremely slow, or some other recent phenomena may have wiped out older riverbeds and landforms.Read more

Images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft show a concentration of high-altitude haze and a vortex materialising at the south pole of Saturn's moon Titan, signs that the seasons are turning on Saturn's largest moon.Read more

To better understand Saturn's moon Titan, scientists must study the methane in its atmosphere, the persistence of which was likely influenced by an ocean of water recently discovered 100 kilometres below the moon's surface, said Jonathan Lunine, Cornell's David C. Duncan Professor in the Physical Sciences.Read more